6 French soldiers injured in car ramming near Paris

An individual has rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers patrolling in a neighborhood near the French capital of Paris, injuring six of them.

The incident occurred in the suburban neighborhood of Levallois-Perret, to the northwest of Paris, on Wednesday morning.

The driver, who sped off and fled the scene, targeted troops from the Sentinelle security force, established after terrorist attacks in 2015 by Europe-based elements of the Daesh terrorist group.

Two of the victims are said to be in a serious condition.

The mayor of Levallois-Perret, Patrick Balkany, said after the incident that he had “no doubt” that it had been a “deliberate act.”

“It’s an odious act of aggression,” Balkany told local television.

Police work at the site where a car rammed into soldiers on patrol in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris, August 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A police spokesperson in Paris announced that security forces were on the hunt for the driver of the car.

According to the spokesperson, the vehicle appeared to clearly target the soldiers but the motive remained unclear. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to police policy.

The spokesperson further said that four of those struck in the incident were slightly injured but that the injuries of the other two were serious.

The development comes four days after a teenager with alleged psychiatric issues attempted to attack security forces guarding the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The incident was the latest of several attacks targeting security forces guarding sites in France.

French military forces have been assigned to patrol civilian sites ever since a series of terrorist attacks struck Paris in November 2015. Back then, a group of Daesh terrorists killed 130 people and injured 368 more in separate attacks.